The
Lexus RX is one of the most successful luxury crossovers of the
past decade, with sales doubling or even tripling that of its
competition. Remarkably, the RX has achieved its considerable
success without a major overhaul, but that will change when the
next gen RX is unveiled this November in LA. Details on the new
RX have been scarce to this point, but we can be sure that a hybrid
version will continue to be available and that a plug-in version
is a possibility. More
info & Pictures

Noble
had flown over a prototype of its newest model – the M600 – for
a series of shakedowns in the western U.S. CAR was able to get
a shooter out to Arizona to capture the M600 undergoing testing,
using the same Yamaha-developed V8 found in the Volvo XC90. According
to CAR's sources, the V8 has been fitted with twin turbochargers
and output is estimated at somewhere north of 600 hp. More
info

Nissan
announced that the 2009 Maxima, launched last June, will cost
more due to increased raw materials costs. Effective immediately,
the price for the Maxima 3.5 S and Maxima 3.5 SV are $30,160 and
of $32,860 respectively. Both models are equipped with an advanced
3.5-liter V6 and CVT transmission. For the extra price, you will
also gain extra horsepower. For 2009, the VQ-series V6 engine
will deliver 290 hp and 261 lb-ft of torque (estimated), an increase
of 35 horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque over the 2008 Maxima. More
info

BMW
has finally unleashed some information and photos of the much
anticipated MINI E set to debut next month at the LA Auto Show.
For those who haven't been paying attention, late last spring
BMW announced plans to build and lease a fleet of 500 battery
powered MINIs starting sometime in 2009. The front wheels of the
MINI E receive torque through a single speed gearbox from a 204
hp, 162 lb-ft electric motor. Those numbers are rather unusual
for an electric drive system which usually has much more torque.
Nonetheless, the MINI E can hustle to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and,
according to BMW. More
info & Pictures

The
crew from CAR laid out what the future holds for Mercedes' two-door
offerings and now its tapped Larson to render what the forthcoming
E-class coupe will look like ahead of its debut at the Geneva
Motor Show next year. Engine choices will range from 184 hp four-cylinders
(E200k) to an E63 AMG variant putting down 481 hp, while a 525
hp Black Series version will be offered further down the line.
Seven-speed automatics will proliferate throughout the range,
along with direct injection on all gasoline-powered models. More
info

The
Cadillac CTS-V has already proven that its impressive power stats
translate nicely to the track with sub-8 minute 'Ring times and
a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds. The General is also positioning its
new 556-hp halo sedan as a performance bargain, having announced
today that it will go on sale around November 1 with a starting
price of just $59,995. That's more than $40,000 cheaper than the
less powerful XLR-V, and we'd argue the CTS-V is more attractive
with its v2.0 Art and Science styling. More
info

Toyota
has confirmed publicly on its Open Road Blog that these shots
are indeed the 2010 Prius. Toyota PR reportedly confirmed to the
website that what we're looking at is the same car that will be
revealed in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Mechanically
speaking, the new Prius is expected to arrive with a more powerful
gas engine, bigger electric motor and, despite continuing to use
nickel-metal hydride rather than lithium-ion batteries, improved
fuel efficiency. It is the Prius after all.More
info

BRABUS
tunes all manner of Mercedes-Benzes, and even branches out by
pumping performance into diminutive smart cars that have very
little business going fast. Likewise, BRABUS also tunes Mercedes
SUVs that usually have no business bragging about their performance,
and there's a new Merc ute on the scene that has yet to get the
German tuning firm's treatment... until now. BRABUS has just released
details on its new Exclusive Program for the Mercedes-Benz GLK
that allows owners to tune the new soft-roader to their heart's
content. More
info & Pictures

Meet
the Challenger SRT10 Concept, which sports an 8.4L V10 engine
graciously donated by a Viper SRT10. As well as what happens when
you attempt to transfer the engine's 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft
of torque to the ground through the Challenger's rear tires. Needless
to say, enough tire smoke is produced to affect the weather in
China. Other mods include a functional carbon fiber shaker hood
that feeds air to the voluminous V10, a carbon fiber front splitter
and rear deck lid, a new rear spoiler More
info

Expected
to show up in production trim about 18 months from now, the P11
will certainly be a tough secret for McLaren to keep. The P11
is one of the most highly anticipated sequels in automotive history,
so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that spy shots of running
prototypes have already surfaced. This time it's Auto Express
publishing a few pics of the car in the wild. Heavily camo'd,
the car was spotted near the McLaren F1 shop in Woking, Surrey.
Even in disguise you can see that the car looks like it will be
as trim More
info

Lexus
unveiled a new version of its IS 250 sports sedan called the Sports
Concept. So what, you ask is the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept?
Think of it as IS F-light, but not quite as light on substance
as appearance packages from its German rivals (think Audi S-line
or Mercedes AMG sport packages). The show car has been outfitted
with 19" wheels hiding cross-drilled two-piece rotors clamped
by six-pot calipers up front and four-pots in the rear, painted
trademark Lexus F blue. More
info & Pictures

Small
independent exotic automakers abound, including names like Ascari,
Ultima, Noble, Farboud, Farbio and Arash, to name just a few.
Trying to keep track of them all is enough to make your head spin,
especially when the same guy is behind the latter three. After
selling off Farboud, the new owners changed the name to Farbio
and founder Arash Farboud started a new outfit under his first
name. What you see here are the first proper images of his latest
creation, the Arash AF10. More
info

Well,
with V10, convertible and possibly diesel versions in the works,
we can't imagine that demand will subside anytime soon. You might
think that Audi would be smart to amp up production to handle
the high demand, especially with those new versions coming soon,
but that isn't gonna happen according to Audi. Seems they can
only make 27 R8s a month day and no more. That should keep the
R8 variations very scarce and very dear. For those lucky enough
to have the coinage and a place in line, there is more news. More
info

The
Gallardo Lp560-4 won the title of Performance Car of The Year
2008 in CAR magazine’s annual test. The Gallardo LP560-4 compete
with the Porsche 911 GT2, Aston Martin DBS and Mercedes-Benz CLK
Black Series. It then went on to win the overall competition against
finalists from seven other categories, including challengers such
as the Nissan GT-R, Mitsubishi Evo 360 and Mini John Cooper Works.
More
info & Pictures

A
talented designer who goes by Jinx on Camaro forums has created
some renderings of what a Camaro Z28 could look like. He envisions
a supercharged 6.2L LSA engine underhood with 550 horsepower.
That hood would need a power bulge to cover the supercharged mill,
and the rendering features a clear opening like the latest ZR1,
along with a carbon fiber splitter up front. More
info

The
Brera Ti picks up some of the improvements developed by British
rally and racing concern Prodrive (yes, that Prodrive, the ones
who field Aston Martin in Le Mans, Subaru in the WRC and brought
Honda back into F1). The Ti gets a stiffened suspension, 8C-style
19-inch anthracite alloys and Brembo brakes. More
info

The
Megane is Renault's bread and butter, competing in a dog-eat-dog
segment against the likes of Volkswagen's new Golf and the popular
European-spec Ford Focus. Diversity is part of Renault's plan
of attack, planning to offer six different Megane bodystyles,
each with its own distinct character. To start off, Renault launched
the five-door hatchback and the sleek new coupe on its home turf
here in Paris. More
info

Day
1 of the 2008 Paris Motor Show is now officially over and below
you'll find our complete coverage of the most exciting concepts
and production vehicles that were unveiled. We're curious to know
which concept is your favorite and which production vehicles you
are most looking forward to. More
info & Pictures

After
several weeks of teaser shots from Lamborghini we finally got
a full view of the Lamborghini Estoque concept this morning ahead
of its official debut tomorrow morning. However, the photos were
relatively small and details were scarce, but we are now able
to bring you high resolution photos and full details via a press
release from Lamborghini. The Estoque, named for the sword use
by the Matador in a bull fight, is actually listed as mid-engined
with the motor placed behind the front axle. More
info & Pictures

After
last night's impromptu unveiling of the BMW Concept X1 set off
Dan's gag reflex, the Munich-based automaker has released the
first batch of official info and images of its premium compact
CUV. Most of us here at Autoblog echo Dan's sentiment that the
Concept X1 is an ugly duckling, with very odd proportions for
such a small CUV.he front end wears the new swollen nose first
seen on the new 7 Series, while squared off wheel surrounds and
lots of pinched surfacing reminds us of what we didn't like about
the Bangle-era of BMW design. More
info & Pictures

Rumors
of a new Volvo hot hatch have gotten hot again with talk of a
new 300-horsepower C30 for Europe. According to reports, the new
model would be powered by the same 2.5-liter inline-five cylinder
turbo engine that powers the new Ford Focus RS. Volvo may limit
the new model to 4,500 units worldwide.More
info

The
X1 will go into production in the fall of 2009 and will compete
with SUVs like the Volkswagen Tiguan. In America we will see the
2.5 liter version delivering 218 hp. Europe on the other hand
will also get the X1 30i with 265 hp and the 30d, whose engine
delivers 245 hp. More details on the future small SUV from BMW
will likely be available after the concept is officially shown
at the Paris Auto Show in October.

Bugatti
announced pricing on the 2009 Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport. The supercar
will go on sale in March 2009 at a price of 1.4 million Euros
($2 million), which was in line with what was expected. It will
be limited to only 150 units, with the first 50 of these going
exclusively to registered Bugatti customers. When the roof is
closed, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport can match the fixed
roof car’s 253 mph top speed, while speeds of up to 223 mph are
possible with the targa-type roof off.More
details

We
have an idea of what the next Mazda3 will look like based on some
trademark renderings that Mazda supplied the European Union Office
of Harmonization for the Internal Market; basically what they
amount to are patent drawings. Based on these very rough outlines,
somebody named Pascal Boissé from Auto-Motive D&C has created
a rendering that gives us a slightly better idea of what the new
compact car will look like. More
details

Mitsubishi
told us way back in June that it would debut the five-door Lancer
Sportback and Sportback Ralliart at the Paris Motor Show in October.
They were close, as images of the two models have surfaced on
the web today just a week before the big show in Paris. The new
Sportback model adds all the versatility of Subaru's similarly
shaped 5-door Impreza models, which should be a big hit in Europe
where they'll go on sale first. More
details

Mercedes
unveiled today the S 600 Pullman Guard, a limousine integrated
Highest Protection. The car was unveiled to celebrate 80 years
of manufacturing vehicles with factory-integrated special protection.
The technical basis for the new Pullman limousine is provided
by the S 600 Guard, the top of the Mercedes-Benz Guard range.
It is powered by a superbly smooth twelve-cylinder biturbo engine
with a displacement of 5513 cubic centimetres and an output of
517 hp with an impressive 830 Nm of torque. More
details

Toyota
plans to address that oversight at the LA Auto Show in November
with a CNG fueled Camry Hybrid. Vehicles running on compressed
natural gas are nothing new, although the only one currently offered
by a major automaker in the US right now is the Honda Civic GX.
Since CNG vehicles have a shorter range, they have primarily been
used by fleets with centralized filling stations. More
details

The
first official images of the production Fiat 500 Abarth esseesse
(SS) have made their way onto the Web and as suspected, it's as
racy as a hot hatch can get. The esseesse is fitted with a full
body kit consisting of a new front fascia, lower side skirts and
a redesigned rear bumper housing a diffuser and pair of chrome
exhaust tips, while 17-inch wheels and a small spoiler round out
the appearance package. More
details

Audi
RS6 is one of the most desirable cars on the market. Previously
only available as a wagon, Audi gave us a sneak peek of the new
RS6 sedan in Moscow ahead of its official unveiling next week
in Paris. For those of you who cannot wait that long, Ingolstadt
has come to the rescue with new images of the twin-turbo V10 speed
demon.